I am my own sensitivity reader.

Since Facing the Curse is being released tomorrow, on Dec. 2, I want to go on record and be clear:

I am my own sensitivity reader.

I wrote a novel about a gay intersex man who has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), is a survivor of childhood abuse, has suffered spiritual abuse, and has been the victim of domestic violence.

So let me be very upfront about this:

1. I’m bi, not het.

2. I’m trans and also third gender, not intersex, but I wanted intersex people to have representation, too.

3. I have been clinically diagnosed with DID.

4. I am a survivor of childhood abuse.

5. I have suffered spiritual abuse.

6. I am a survivor of domestic violence and stalking.

I would never want readers to feel that some heterosexual, cis-gendered man who is neurotypical is trying to spout off about things he knows nothing about, and I definitely don’t want people to think that DID is nothing to me but an exotic plot device. Far, far from it. It’s quite personal. Not only do I have DID, but my life partner has DID also.

That’s right. Two people with DID met and fell in love.

I am only comfortable writing about things I know about or things similar enough that research can enable me to reach a place of empathy.

As for Wicca and folk magic, I can say that as someone who has DID, I don’t have one single religion. I have many. The different people inside of me (called “parts” or “self-states” in clinical language) practice nine different religions total, and one of them is Wicca. We espouse freedom of religion inside of our own System (i.e., our internal family, given “System” is the clinical term for all of us together). This means everyone gets time to practice whatever spiritual path meets their spiritual needs. That's how we ended up practicing nine different religions total. I portray this division of religion for someone with DID in my upcoming novel Conjure Hill, which at the moment is set to be released in February 2024 through JMS Books.

One of my goals as a writer is to bust myths about people with DID and confront the offensive stereotypes about us being portrayed in the media. So you can expect me to write more blog posts about this in the future.

Having DID didn’t ruin my life. Obviously. I’m an English professor with a PhD and a published novelist, thanks. I have friends and a life partner and a house and a cat. I hike and swim and do pyrography (wood-burning). I’m not some closet killer making up fake selves so I can get away with murder. What ridiculous bullshit.